Luxury Real Estate Agents Urged to Focus on Buyer Interests, Not Just Finances
A luxury broker argues that many agents overlook key data points like interests and occupation when building buyer profiles, leading to ineffective marketing and longer listing times.
In the competitive luxury real estate market, many agents prioritize staging and broad marketing campaigns. However, Bent Danholm, founder of Danholm Collection, a Central Florida brokerage specializing in properties above $1.5 million, argues that the most critical step is often neglected: precisely identifying the buyer. Danholm says the data point most agents skip is interests.
“Everybody looks at finances and income,” Danholm said. “But they might not pay too much attention to what kind of interests these people might have, unless it’s pretty obvious, like a golf course or lakefront property.” Beyond obvious amenities, he notes that layers of preference—dining habits, social patterns, nightlife, and weekend activities—shape whether a buyer connects with a property before even viewing it.
Danholm’s process begins before any marketing assets are created. His team constructs a detailed “buyer avatar,” mapping out likely family structure, net worth, income, professional background, typical commute, and lifestyle preferences specific to the home. A second overlooked data point is occupation. “Which also influences what they might want to buy,” he said. A tech executive relocating from out of state has different priorities than a medical professional or an investor, affecting not just where to market but how to frame the property.
Once the avatar is built, Danholm’s team purchases targeted demographic data lists, typically costing $2,000 to $4,000, to reach that specific profile directly rather than broadcasting into general real estate channels. The result, he says, is fewer showings per listing but a higher proportion of qualified buyers. “That’s what our sellers actually want,” he said. “They want their home sold, but they don’t want 50 people walking through their home every week.”
Roughly 90% of Danholm’s business comes from expired or canceled listings—properties that sat on the market due to incorrect pricing, broad marketing, or both. “You would be surprised to see how many million-dollar homes are marketed with pictures taken from a phone, with no video,” he said. “And if you can’t be bothered to get the marketing assets right, you’re probably not bothered to figure out who you should market it to.”
Even Danholm acknowledges the method isn’t infallible. When a well-priced, well-located home isn’t moving, he first questions whether the buyer profile was built correctly. If showings occur but no offers come, that signals a pricing issue. If interest is low, the avatar may need revisiting. “You can target and market as much as you like to the right buyer, if your price is off, they’re not going to buy anyway,” he said. His listing agreements are capped at three months; his longest transaction in 18 months took 94 days, including a deal that collapsed due to buyer financing.
In a market where luxury inventory is growing due to overpricing and under-marketing, Danholm’s approach directly addresses a common problem. Homes sitting for 200 to 400 days aren’t sitting because buyers aren’t out there; they’re sitting because no one figured out who the buyers were before spending money to reach them. For sellers evaluating agents, the key question is whether the agent can articulate, clearly and specifically, who will buy the home and what evidence supports that answer.
For more on Danholm’s approach, visit danholmcollection.com.